Melissa Masatani

Weeklies reporter

Recent articles

Celebrity News

PHILADELPHIA >> It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and for a group of current and former Azusa Pacific University students, an unforgettable memory: a selfie with Rocky himself.APU seniors Jacob Kerstan and Andrew Wright were in Pennsylvania visiting their former roommate and APU alumnus Peter Rowe over the Martin Luther King Jr. Day long weekend, when they decided to spend their Saturday in Philadelphia, Kerstan said.The group had just finished racing up the...

Wildfires

When the Colby Fire started burning up the hillsides above Azusa and Glendora, the main priority for the first responders was the residents’ safety. It wasn’t until the days and weeks after that each agency and city started tallying up the costs of fighting the fire and protecting the homes in the foothills from the rainstorms that would trigger several debris and mudflows through the communities.More than $7 million was spent in fighting the Colby Fire, according to the...

Wildfires

While most foothill residents were taking a breath Thursday afternoon as the Colby Fire’s spread slowed to a crawl, Glendora city officials stayed busy, working the phones and calling neighboring cities for advice on what to do after a wildfire.“The best way to prepare,” Glendora City Manager Chris Jeffers said, “and probably to understand what you face if you should have a wildland fire, is to look at what other cities have done and learn from their...

Wildfires

Joe Rocha was in a trance. The Azusa mayor was standing at Vosburg Drive and Sierra Madre Avenue in the early morning hours, woken up by a phone call letting him know there was a fire in the neighboring city. Residents from the neighborhood were gathering along Sierra Madre, watching the blaze come closer to their homes.“In less than a minute, we saw the flames and the embers jump the Garcia Trail and start heading westward,” Rocha remembered. “And as we were...

Law and order

For Azusa and Glendora residents, the repercussions of that cold and windy Jan. 16, 2014, will last for years to come. But the three men convicted of starting the Colby Fire are looking to move on, with appeals filed for two of the three defendants on the felony conviction and the multimillion-dollar restitution order.Clifford Eugene Henry Jr., 23; Steven Robert Aguirre, 22; and Jonathan Carl Jarrell, 24, were convicted in May of felony and misdemeanor offenses related...

Christmas

COVINA >> Josh Roffeis was in for an unpleasant surprise Wednesday morning. As the father of four went to drive to work, he discovered his 1993 green Honda Accord was missing.Having the car stolen was bad enough, but — with a home full of curious children — the Roffeis family had wanted to avoid Christmas present spoilers. So along with the car, the thieves made off with most of the family’s presents.“We were just in shock,” Roffeis...

Storms

GLENDORA >> After two town hall meetings, Susie and Jaime Carranza got the message to be ready for rain. They cleared out their storm drains, gutters and drainage trenches around their Glendora Avenue home; they gathered their essentials to evacuate if needed; and they signed up for the Police Department’s Nixle alert system.So, when the rain came Friday morning, the couple knew what to expect.While stormwater and mud flowed down the streets in the San Gabriel...

Arrests

LOS ANGELES >> A drug-trafficking gang that officials say has terrorized Boyle Heights residents for more than 70 years was the target of a federal takedown Wednesday, as officials arrested 24 people during “Operation Resident Evil.”A total of 38 people, led by alleged Mexican Mafia member Manuel Larry “Cricket” Jackson, were named in a federal indictment targeting the Big Hazard gang, officials announced Wednesday at a news conference that included...

Parades

It was an early morning, Oct. 21, and the seven new sisters knew they were in for a long and emotional day. One of them would be crowned queen of the 2015 Tournament of Roses Royal Court.“I asked the hair stylist, ‘Do you know who it is?’ ” Madison Triplett remembered. “And she just said, ‘Yeah, I know,’ and just kept...

Storms

GLENDORA >> Though the city avoided any major mudslides or flooding from Tuesday and Wednesday evening’s rain, Glendora is set to remain on “Orange Alert” through this morning as another downpour soaked the San Gabriel Valley late Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday evening.“Forecasts are indicating we may get some of that rain up here,” Glendora City Manager Chris Jeffers said. “So they are advising us not to alter our alert color at...